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of "fire walking" unquestionably prevails-
in some parts of the world,
though scientists cannot explain it
This account is taken from "The
Strange Adventures of Capt. Quin
ton," by special arrangement of The
Day Book with "The Christian
Herald."
f BY CAPT- ROBERT QUINTON
P TTT 1 1 1 I 1-1. i- C
WB IUU11 UUW W1L11 it SUIL Ul ViigUB
curiosity to the biblical account of
the "passing through fire" and other
kindred abominations which were
practiced in honor of Baal, Ashtoreth
and Moloch in the days of the Hebrew
prophets; but it seems like a breath
from these long-forgotten ages to
find that the same religion still sur
vives and the" same weird, uncanny
ceremonies are being performed to
day. I first witnessed the fire-walking
ceremony on the little island of Pulo
Penang, off the west coast of the
Malay peninsula. It was at a harvest
festival in honor of. the god, Sammi.
In a pit a huge fire was burning.
The heat from the fire was so intense
that we did not attempt to approach
near enough to gather any precise
idea of its dimensions, but the pit
seemed about 10 feet wide and 30 feet
long, and filled with hardwood logs
laid close like a corduroy road.
Gradually 24 devotees assembled
near one end of the fire, where it
seemed to me the heat was sufficient
to destroy an ordinary human being,
and we heard a faint hum of voices
like a low chant. The natives stand
ing around becanije as still as statues,
and one man deliberately stepped into
the pit and onto the blazing coals.
He wore nothing but the ordinary
cloth which the poorest class of na
tives wear around their waists, and
he walked through that fire the whole
length of the pit as unconcernedly as
though he were walking along a
country road.
Each of the other devotees then
took his turn and walked slowly and
unconcernedly through the fiery fur- j
nace without ohnwing the slightest
trace of suffering.
Later, in the Fiji Islands, I saw the
same weird ceremony on the little
island of Mbenga, sacred to the Fiji
god. The pit was four feet deep and
22 feet in diameter, paved with large,
flat stones. Kindling wood was laid
on the stones and covered with logs
to a height of ten feet. Many stones
were placed on the top of the logs and
the fire -was lighted before daylight.
Two medical men with us examin
ed the feet of the performers, aswell
as their entire bodies, and found
nothing unusual about them.
There were ten "dancers," and
they wore only breechcloths of com
mon calico and anklets of dried fern
leaves, which are highly inflammable.
They also wore wreaths of the ti tree
upon their heads. ,
Starting in single file, they walked
slowly and measuredly across the
red-hot stones, chanting in a low
monotone. They -walked back and
forwards in the heat, showing not the
slightest inconvenience.
One dancer tied a white handker
chief to the end of a long bamboo
pole and held it all of two feet above
the red-hot stones. The handkerchief
instantly scorched and burned up.
The performers remained in the pit
for about ten minutes, and then
marched out. The doubters exam
ined their feet carefully, but were
obliged to admit that they were Jper
fectly normal, and I noticed that the
loin cloths and anklets of dried fern
leaves showed not the slightest evi
dence of being scorched.
(The last of Capt. Quinton's adven
tures, which will appear in this paper
Friday, tells a thrilling story of "A
Night in the Jungle." Ed.)
cP-o
vHIS REASON
The limit of coolness was surely
reached by a Yorkshire churchgoer,
who requested the verger to opn the
windows before the sermon, as it
was unhealthy to sleep In a hot room.